...+ U.S.¡based WKI Holding Co. Inc. is being acquired by Cornell Capital LLC, a private equity firm. + The transaction is being funded with a proposed new $200 million term loan B and $250 million of new sponsor common equity, leading to pro forma leverage of 3.5x for the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2016, which is a reduction from the current leverage of roughly 4x for the same period. + As a result of the lower debt leverage and our expectation that the company will manage debt leverage below 5x, we are raising our corporate credit rating on WKI to 'B+' from 'B'. + We are assigning a '##-' issue-level rating and '2' recovery rating to the proposed $200 million senior secured term loan B maturing 2024. The transaction will also include a new $100 million asset-backed lending (ABL) facility that will be undrawn at close and not rated. + The stable outlook reflects our view that the company will sustain credit protection measures near current levels, including leverage under 5x, continue to generate...
